[HISTORY: Adopted by the Township Committee
of the Township of Washington 8-15-1983 by Ord. No. 19-83 (Sec. 12-5
of the Revised General Ordinances). Amendments noted where applicable.]
The owner of any multiple dwelling unit, rooming
unit other than in a hotel or motel or apartment shall hereafter not
cause or permit the initial rental or lease or subsequent change in
occupancy of an individual dwelling unit therein without requesting
and obtaining a certificate of habitability for said dwelling unit.
A.
Filing statement.
(1)
Every owner of a multiple dwelling, rooming unit,
other than in a hotel or motel, or apartment shall file with the Construction
Official a statement under oath containing the following information:
(a)
The name and address of the premises.
(b)
The name, address and telephone number of the
owner and the managing agent and/or superintendent, if any.
(c)
The number of dwelling units in said multiple
dwelling, rooming unit, other than in a hotel or motel, or apartment.
(d)
Identification of the dwelling units by number
or letter and the name of the tenant in each such unit as of the date
of said statement.
(e)
The term of the lease or occupancy of each tenant.
(2)
Within 30 days after the change in any tenancy, the
owner shall furnish the Construction Official with the name of the
new tenant, the unit occupied and the term of the lease or occupancy.
B.
Procedures. The following procedures shall govern
the requesting and issuance of a certificate of habitability:
(1)
At least 15 days prior to the expected vacancy of
a dwelling unit by a tenant, the owner of said premises shall notify
the Construction Official, in writing, of the anticipated date of
said vacancy and request the Construction Official to make an inspection
and issue a certificate of habitability.
(2)
In the event that the dwelling unit is vacated without
prior notice to the owner, the owner shall promptly notify the Construction
Official, in writing, of the vacancy and request the Construction
Official to make an inspection and issue a certificate of habitability.
(3)
In cases of tenancies for a term of less than three
months, the notice requirement of the above subsections shall not
apply. However, if one or more such short-term changes in occupancy
occur within a calendar year and the dwelling unit involved has not
been inspected under the other provisions of this section during that
calendar year, the owner shall, in the month of January of the following
year, notify the Construction Official of such tenancies and request
an inspection and the issuance of a certificate of habitability.
C.
Issuance of certificate of habitability. Within five working days of his receipt of a request for an inspection, the Construction Official or a member of his staff shall inspect the dwelling unit for compliance with the provisions of Chapter 56 and all other applicable township ordinances and shall either issue a certificate of habitability upon determining that the dwelling unit is safe and fit for human habitation or notify the owner of specific deficiencies which prevent such issuance. Upon correction of the deficiencies, the owner shall request a reinspection and the Construction Official shall issue a certificate of habitability if he determines that the corrections have been made.
D.
Posting of certificate of habitability. The owner
shall post a copy of the certificate of habitability in a prominent
location in each dwelling unit.
The fee for a certificate of habitability shall
be paid in full at the time the request for inspections is made by
the landlord in accordance with the following schedule:
[Amended 10-15-1984 by Ord. No. 25-84; 4-16-2007 by Ord. No. 9-07]
Any person, firm or corporation who or which shall violate any of the provisions of this chapter shall be subject, upon conviction, to the penalties provided in § 1-3 of this Code.
[Added 9-16-1991 by Ord. No. 29-91]
The fee for a certificate of firesafety pursuant
to P.L. 1991, c. 92,[1] shall be in the amount of $25 and shall be paid at the
time that application is made for certification.
[1]
Editor's Note: See N.J.S.A. 52:27D-198.1 et
seq.
[Added 12-18-2017 by Ord. No.
13-17]
A.
Before any existing single-family, two-family or multifamily dwelling,
on or after the effective date of this section, is sold, leased, or
otherwise made subject to a change of occupancy for residential purposes,
the dwelling owner shall obtain a certificate of smoke detector and
carbon monoxide alarm compliance. No dwelling unit shall change occupancy
until one or more smoke detectors (or other approved fire alarm system)
are installed for each dwelling unit subject to changing of occupancy
in accordance with all the requirements of the New Jersey Uniform
Construction Code and the Uniform Fire Code.
